Anand Persaud maintains issuance of radio licences was fair, transparent

Owner of NTN Radio Station, Anand Persaud said the ruckus being stirred up over the issuance of radio licences is uncalled for, adding that he believes they were fairly distributed.
Speaking to Guyana Times International during an exclusive interview, Persaud said he went through the legitimate process to have his licence granted to him. He noted that his application was renewed on January 31 this year, through the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA).
He said that he was successful in gaining a licence due to fulfilling the requirements set out for applicants. As such, he condemned remarks being made in some sections of the media and by opposition politicians that radio licences were issued unfairly.

Persaud, who also holds a licence for television broadcast, believes those who are creating the noise about unfair distribution are merely bitter because they were unable to receive licences.
“I think it’s a pack of hogwash and these people are just bitter… Enrico Woolford and them are just bitter, not just over the issuance of radio licences, but for the many other things these people are bitter about… I think their time should be better spent,” said Persaud.
He said he was sure that the manner in which the radio licences were distributed was not a decision solely made by former President Bharrat Jagdeo, but he would have had advisers and a committee to discuss the proper issuance.
He pointed out that new radio stations need to be on par with the competition presented by existing stations, as well as those still to be established. He said there is already a saturated advertising market, which is the only means of raking in revenue and sustaining a radio station’s operations.
Radio licences
Meanwhile, on March 14 in Parliament, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds listed the number of persons/companies that were granted permission to broadcast television, cable, and radio signals.
Specifically for radio, those granted permission are: the National Communications Network (NCN/ government); Radio Guyana Inc (Dr Ranjisinghi Ramroop); Telecor and Cultural Broadcasting Inc (Omar Lochan); NTN Radio (Anand Persaud); New Guyana Company Ltd (Dharam Kumar Seeraj); Wireless Connections (Maxwell Thom); Hits and Jams Entertainment (Rawle Ferguson); Alfro Alphonso and Sons Enterprise (Alfro Alphonso); Haslyn Graham (of Linden); Rudy Grant; and Little Rock Television Station (Rocliffe Christie).
In addition, the government of Guyana has officially paid Gy$ 500,000 to Television Guyana Inc (TVG), as successor to Vieira Communications Limited (VCT), for damages after it was sued for breaching the company’s fundamental rights to a radio broadcast licence.
The move came after a Court of Appeal order was issued to the Legal Affairs Ministry, following the company’s success in advancing arguments at the levels of the High Court and the Appeal Court.
The cheque was paid in the month of March, originally to TVG, which had purchased all of the properties and assets of VCT. However, a decision was taken by TVG’s owner Dr Ranjisinghi Ramroop to pay the monies over to former People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) parliamentarian and businessman Anthony Vieira, as the company’s final obligations and commitment to him following the sale of VCT and all related properties.
Vieira has since received the cheque via registered mail and has already cashed it. As successor to all rights of VCT, TVG received the radio licence consequent to the judgement. With the judgement also breaking the radio monopoly, nine other radio licences have been issued.
The court said VCT is entitled to damages for the violation of its rights and it granted the company leave to approach the High Court for an assessment of such damages. It also ordered the government and the NFMU to pay VCT costs in the sum of Gy$ 250,000 each.
Attorney and then Alliance For Change (AFC) Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan, who was present in court for the ruling at the time, hailed the decision, saying it was a milestone in the constitutional history of Guyana. He said the Court of Appeal panel was “bold and brave in relation to its tending of freedom and liberties at the judicial level”.
Ramjattan added that the decision is consistent with what is happening in more profound democracies within the Caribbean and other jurisdictions. In 2011, then President Jagdeo broke government’s monopoly on the radio waves, granting some 10 licences to applicants who were awaiting approval.
Among them was VCT’s application, which was one of the first in the system, but at the time approval was granted, Vieira had already sold his company and all rights to Dr Ramroop.
The granting of the licence, therefore, came as a result of legal proceedings against the government, which was instituted by VCT, and not as a result of any favour of the former president or his Cabinet at the time. Radio Guyana Inc ( RGI) can now be heard on 89.3/ 89.5/ 89.7 FM.